10.38 – Or do they say, “ He has forged it ” ? Say: “ Then bring a sūra like it . . . ”
The audience does not believe that the messenger’s recitation is “sent down.” The Quran’s response is to command the messenger to challenge the audience to compose a sūra like the recitation. Similar challenges appear at 2.23; 11.13; 17.88; 28.49; and 52.34. In Muslim tradition these verses became known as the taḥaddī (“challenge”) verses. See the analysis of these verses at 52.34.